Abandoned kitten approximately 10-14 days old says vet. Need advice!

She actually eats like I used to feed my children as babies.....sitting up on her back legs on my chest.  she won't eat any other way.  but I still keep her in the same position as if she was on her belly so she doesn't choke.  btw she is REALLY constipated right now.  How do I help her?  i tried running her butt under warm water and tapping and I tried the wash clothes tapping, and slightly wiping, and my 7 month olf kitten has even tried licking her bottom and I have done the rubbing/massaging her belly after every meal and burping her too.  I am lost on how to help her.  I know when my son was a small baby they had me take his temperature rectally to help loosen the stool to help him poop.  Can I do that with her?  or like an enema of sorts with a small bit of warm water and a syringe dropper?  just trying to come up with ideas.

The most common trick is to dilute the kmr some with water.  this having as extra plus her becoming well hydrated.

Well hydrated - there is enough with fluids to make the poo containing more water...

You mentioned in an earlier post she perhaps didnt got enough with fluids?  It was because of this I gave the tip of homemade pedialyte.  May it be this the reason for constipation?  Not enough with fluid?

With a little older kittens a good trick is to have some plain canned pumpkin in the bottle. 

Works both for constipation and for some variants of runny poo.

Im not sure if she is too young for it as yet.  Although if enough desperate I guess it is possible to try it out.

*vibes*

ps.  Also adding some quality olive oil, a couple of drops, is used somethimes.  Shouldnt be dangerous either.  You DID had some oil in that glop, so.  

Yeah I remember the homemake pedialyte recipe post.  I may try that even though she seems to be well hydrated now.  and I gave her a few drops of pure corn oil cuz that is the only oil I had on hand and am waiting to see if it works.  She took it quite easily as well i was surprised.  And yeah the old mixture I was feeding her did have that oil in it and she was always quite regular so maybe that is needed now.

poor little hope is straining really bad to poop but not getting barely anything out.....and she keeps peeing A LOT all over me.  I gave her a little corn oil to help the constipation but she has only gotten a couple VERY hard pebbles out that were very big around.  I even added  some more water to her KMR.  I have also been rubbing her belly a lot to help her feel better....what do I do?  I just want her to feel better.

Im beginning to think seriously on an enema as you yourself suggested, although I myself dont have any experience from this.   You could surely try and phone this your vet and ask.  As paying patient, you are surely entitled to free phone questions now and then??

Some fluid petroleum products are useful, given orally.  The difficulty is to find which and where, as they must be of food grade.

Here in Sweden liquid "paraffine" of food grade is sometimes used, also by vets.  It is possible to find here.

Translated into White vaseline in USA?  Petroleum Jelly is another translation I have heard.

Although I have heard some forumists swearing at this white vaseline...

Cat malt, though for swallowed hairs, is solved in such a semifluid petroleum...  I think it is the easiest way for an amateur to find such petroleum jelly  95% pure, and of food quality.

  Should be useful, in any case in an older cat.

As said, this too a question you can ask this vet, phoning if he is wiling to talk with you 5 minutes.

Even as we now know he isnt no specialist on kittens, but few vets are.  But these questions he shold have some good answers on.

*vibes!*

Hope update.  Over the past 24 hours she has been pooping a little at a time and it has slowly gotten softer and wetter (to a normal consistancy not runny or soft in any way).  She is eating every 2-3 hours about 6-12 ml per feeding.  and today I ended up having to pick my kids up at the exact same time as she woke up hungry and so I let her run around my livingroom while I was gone (with Bella (7 month old kitten)) and was very surprised when i got home.  She was venturing farther from where she normally does.  Usually she stays on my livingroom rug and walks slowly and wobbly.  Today she was walking with almost no wobble and running not just walking.  And she followed me all the way to the kitchen because she knew I was making her bottle.  She did so good today.

Hurray!  It sounds like things are going well and you are on the upward side of things.

yes she is definitely doing a lot better.  She is eating closer to 10-20ml per feeding every 2-3 hours.  And her fur is getting way thicker.  She is also running around the house several times a day now.  She has almost no wobble at all and has extremely good posture.  Also she is starting to clean herself by lapping not just chewing or sucking at her fur.  So I am very proud of her.    also she no longer has an extremely puffy belly anymore she looks like a normal kitten.  I will keep you all posted as she grows.

Ebonly2000 said:

yes she is definitely doing a lot better.
  So I am very proud of her.    .

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This thread gave me happy tears!!!!! Such a beautiful rescue and a story of "hope". I am very happy to hear that Hope is thriving under your love and care. :heart3: I am "proud" of you for all you are doing to save Hope. I will be sending you both lots and lots of vibes that things continue to improve. She sounds just adorable. AWWWWWWWWW :heart2:

This is my sweet little hope just yesterday.  I thought I would finally show off some cute pics for all those that have helped us through this.  Enjoy.

Feralvr thank you for the great vibes.  I think so far this has been a great experience though scary and sad at times and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Ebonly2000 said:

Hope 2.jpg

• ebonly2000
• Sep 27, 2013

Feralvr thank you for the great vibes.  I think so far this has been a great experience though scary and sad at times and I wouldn't change it for the world.

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BE STILL MY HEART!!! I am overjoyed at how she is so loved now and becoming stronger and stronger by the day. I little miracle. No thanks needed, hun, in fact........... THANKS to you, this little one is having a chance at a beautiful life. And, yes, we must expect the ups and downs that come with rescuing. Putting our hearts on the line for them is such a gift to those who are in need. :heart3:

Continuing those vibes for :rub: HOPE!!!!!!!! :cross: Keep on going little one!!! :cross:

I read your story and I am so happy for Hope. I too just. Rescued a 3-4 day old kitten with her umbilical cord still attached. This was my first rescue. My other animals are from the humane society. She is almost 6 weeks old. I named her cupcake. I had a post on this site because her hair fell

Update on little Hope.  I had to take her to the vet today because her eyes started getting stuck together and pus-filled and she has been sneezing.  The vet said that she had clamydia and upper respiritory infection.  They gave her Clavamax (amoxicillin) and an eye ointment (oxytetracycline/polymixin B sulfate). He said to giveboth to her every morning and night until they are both gone.  She definintely doesn't like either but I am sure it will help her feel better and eventually she will understand.  The vet did say that other than this problem that she seems to be a VERY healthy kitten.

Now for the good news.  She has been eating anywhere from 60ml-90ml daily and there was one day she ate 120ml.  She is starting to not want to eat every 2-3 hours but rather every 4-5 hours.  I still offer it every 3 hours max though just in case she is hungry.  Also she has been running around the house happy as a normal kitten lately.  She rarely wants to be cuddled after eating.  Now she wants put down to roam the house.  I am happy about this because it means she is starting to get better, but sad because I love our cuddle time.  Well I will keep you all posted as she gets older.

I have been reading Hope's story but not posted before now as have no experience or advice to offer you on caring for this tiny baby. Just want to send you lots of good wishes and vibes for you both as Hope starts to explore her world with her eye and upper respiratory infections to fight off.   She is an amazingly determined little girl and you are doing an amazing job as her mom.  

MServant,

Ty for your kind words.  She is a VERY determined baby.  And when she did try to give up I wouldn't let her so now she is stronger than ever.  I love her so much.

Another Hope update.  The vet put in her first dose of eye ointment and I gave her the first dose of antibiotics when we got home from the vet at about 3:15pm.  She ate about 10ml and then slept for 4 1/2 hours.  Usually in this amount of time her eyes are back to being stuck shut and puss filled but when I woke her up only one eye was a tinny bit stuck together which she opened on her own and there was no pus.  She went potty and then ate like normal (actually about 25ml which is a lot for one feeding but since she only ate a tiny bit the previous feeding I thought it was fine).  And while she was eating she got a tiny bit of pus in the middle of one of her eyes that I immediately cleaned off and her eyes were clear again.  She walked around for a tiny bit and then just wanted to be held and loved on and then fell asleep again.  I am guessing the meds are making her tired.  I know that Amoxicillin makes me tired too.  She slept for another 2 1/2 hours and she pottied good (pee and poop) and then she took her night time dose of meds (she was not happy) and then ate about 7ml and then walked around a bit and then cuddled with my hubby....which won't be happening anytime soon again because he is deathly allergic to Penicillin but didn't think he was allergic to Amoxicillin.  Come to find out after she licked him a bunch while cuddling with him he broke out everywhere she licked.  So he has to stay away from her until she is off the Amoxicillin..........After I took her back she wanted to eat again and she ate another 8ml and then wanted her belly rubbed and tons of kisses and then she fell asleep in my arms.  But her eyes are already looking so much better.  I am so happy that I was able to get my hubby to pay for her to go to the vet.  Also on the last update I forgot to mention that I offered her a little bit of warmed up soft food last night and she ate a bite or two then walked away instead of just walking through it like last time.  So I am gonna start offering soft food twice a day to start to wean her from the bottle.  I will of course still give her the bottle until she eats soft food and water with each meal.  Then I will slowly start limiting the bottles until she is totally weaned.  The vet told me today that she looked very healthy and could probably start eating a little bit of soft food now to start weaning her, so I guess it is time.  She is still being a major love bug with me so I am happy.  But since she started the meds she seems to be too tired to walk around for very long so she comes back to me and cries to be held and goes ni-night.  She loves to just stare into my eyes still but more so when she has the eye ointment in her eyes which is saddening because she looks so pitiful and looks like she is crying.  I feel so bad for her but I know these meds will make her feel better and be healthy so I will keep it up.  Now when I took her to the vet he gave me the meds and told me that they should clear her right up but if not to bring her back in after.  He didn't tell me how long to have her take the meds for, just to take them morning and night.  So I wonder how long she should be on them because I read somewhere that if she stops too early (even if she looks cleared up) it can come back even worse and harder to treat.  I guess I just use the meds until they are all gone and if she isn't fully cleared up by then then I should take her back and get more?  I have read it could take anywhere from 7-10 days for mild cases to a month for serious cases (which she is a serious case the vet said).  Any advice on this would be helpful.  I will be calling the vet back tomorrow to ask how long she should be on it as well.  And even though she has an upper respiratory infection she doesn't have any odd breathing sounds (she is all clear) and only has the occasional sneezing. The vet only said she had an upper respiratory infection because I mentioned she had been sneezing every once in a while.  If she finishes all her meds and her eyes are all clear and she is acting healthy and looking healthy but is still sneezing every so often could it be allergies?  She mainly only sneezes when she is in the litter box (maybe from the dust?) and every once in awhile when she eats too quickly.  She hasn't been coughing or had any drainage from her nose and she has no sores in her mouth or anything.  The vet checked for that when he checked to make sure she was well hydrated and nourished.  He said she was doing wonderfully and that I was doing everything right.  But he has been wrong before.  Also on a side note: when I brought her in the vet's assistant and receptionist came into the room as well just to see how she was doing because they were very worried about her when I first got her because of the rough shape she was in.  They were amazed that she has quadrupled her size since I got her on the 13th and said she looked so much healthier.  The receptionist said she had faith that I would do everything right and was one of the best people for the baby to be taken in by but still worried that she was doomed to die.  She almost cried with joy when she saw how good she was doing.  When I put Hope on the exam table the receptionist was on the other side and Hope ran to her and loved on her.  The receptionist is amazing with all of my cats.  My Oldest Onyx hates the vet's office and new people but loves her to death.  My 7 month old Bella gets scared to death in the vet's office (who knows why) but runs to the receptionist and loves on her each time as well.  Now Hope is kinda ok with the assistant checking her hydration and checking her sex but cried a bit and ran back to me when he was done.  She fought like crazy when the vet tried to check her out though and then when the vet gave her meds she hated him.  She ran back to me and then the receptionist loved on her a bit before we left and she purred like crazy.  She is an amazing person with my cats and usually comes into the room to help keep my babies calm too.  Well just thought I would add to the previous update and ask about the sneezing.  So if anyone has any ideas about the sneezing feel free to share them because I can always use helpful hints, trick, or any happy comments to keep me feeling like I am doing well.  I am doing my best, but it isn't like with a human baby and this is my first time so I am still nervous.

I imagine that, like humans, you must give Hope all of the oral medication, not too sure about the eye ointment though, so check with the vet. So glad that she is improving each day, I look forward to reading further updates.

I'd ask the vet about how long to give the medication when you call.  They probably just forgot to tell you.  It is a good sign that you are seeing a difference in the eye infection already so hopefully this first prescription will be all she needs.  My cat is really good taking medication but eye ointments are the one he struggles with.  I know how they feel!!!

If her sneezing is mostly around litter time it may well be worth trying a different type - just now clumping yet in case she tries to eat any of it.  The dust or fragrance could be irritating her so an unscented low dust one would be best if you can get one.

Interesting about your husband's allergies: I had never thought of that! Here's to Hope being off her meds soon so he can get his share of cuddles and kisses. 

Thanks for the update.  I am so glad to hear how well she is doing now.

Ebonly2000, I just wanted to thank you for caring and doing so much for this little lost soul! God bless you!  I pray she grows up to have a long and happy life! StefanZ, I've been following you for a while now, and want to thank you too, you are so knowledgable about kitten care and give such good advise. You are also careful not to upset the caregivers, you remember that they are truly amateurs that have big hearts! Thank you for all you do!